Rather than try to explain it, here from Wiki:

The parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) is a root vegetable closely related to carrot and parsley; all belong to the family Apiaceae. It is a biennial plant usually grown as an annual. Its long, tuberous root has cream-colored skin and flesh, and, left in the ground to mature, it becomes sweeter in flavor after winter frosts. In its first growing season, the plant has a rosette of pinnate, mid-green leaves. If unharvested, in its second growing season it produces a flowering stem topped by an umbel of small yellow flowers, later producing pale brown, flat, winged seeds. By this time, the stem has become woody and the tuberous root inedible.

The parsnip is native to Eurasia; it has been used as a vegetable since antiquity and was cultivated by the Romans, although some confusion exists between parsnips and carrots in the literature of the time. It was used as a sweetener before the arrival in Europe of cane sugar.

The parsnip is usually cooked, but it can also be eaten raw. It is high in vitamins and minerals, especially potassium. It also contains antioxidants and both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. It should be cultivated in deep, stone-free soil.
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They are truly good. You can roast them, boil and mash them with butter, put them in stews or slice them like fries toss them in a bit of oil, S&P and bake them in the oven.




Ahemmmm...I ain't no damn yankee!!!